An Unusual April

Photo taken by Jeffery Tormala in Ewen, MI (Ontonagon County, Western U.P.)

7th Snowiest April (so far)

WOW! Where is spring?Does this much snow usually happen in April? Is this the snowiest April NWS Marquette has seen?

Normal snowfall for April is 11.6 inches-so we are above normal for this time of year. As it turns out though, things could have been much worse (see the #1 and #2 spots)in table 1 below. Granted, we are just over half way through April and there is more snow on the way (sorry about that). How does April 2013stack up to Aprils Past?:

Rank

Total Snowfall (April 1-April 30) in inches

Year

1

55.2

2007

2

43.4

1996

3

38.5

2008

4

29.4

1977

5

29.2

1982

6

29.1

1993

7

26.1

2013

8

24.4

1972

9

23.2

1974

10

22.5

2003

Table 1. Snowiest April Records for NWS Marquette. This year (as of April 23, 2013) is #7. Records

at NWS Marquette go back to 1963. NWS Marquette is roughly 3.5 miles NE of Negaunee, MI

Highest April 21, 2013 Snow Depth

In terms of snow depth, the story is a little different. April 21st, 2013 is in first place for the highest snow depth on this date!

This month, temperatures have been consistently (with the exception of 2 days) below the daily normal temperatures. The graph below shows most temperatures were close to normal or below normal for April (through the 21st).You can also see the above normal precipitation we've received this month (and in March).

Don't get depressed just yet-there is hope.It looks like spring/summer will eventually return this year, though it's off to a late start! The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting normal temperatures and precipitation for most of Upper Michigan from May through July. Far western Upper Michigan will see below normal temperatures in May.